Although pandemics are unpredictable, San Jose State’s administration could and should have provided clear instructions earlier for students and faculty members in the event of a closed campus or suspended classes in response to the spread
of new coronavirus.
By not communicating clearly with the campus community, SJSU left professors and students the impossible and unfair task of preparing to operate fully online in less than a week.
The San Jose State administration took drastic action to combat the spread of COVID-19 after the first death was reported in Santa Clara County, Monday.
But action should have happened far before a death in the county occurred.
SJSU President Mary Papazian’s announcement to suspend classes and move them online in the following weeks left instructors and students with
unanswered questions.
The first case of COVID-19 was reported on
Dec. 31, 2019, by Chinese health authorities when unusually high cases of pneumonia were confirmed as examples of the respiratory illness, according to the
World Health Organization.
The university sent out an initial email on Jan. 29, but didn’t send any other communication about what is now referred to by WHO as a pandemic until almost a month later.
The County of Santa Clara Public Health Department then announced the first COVID-19 case in the county on Jan. 31.
“I understand the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 has created anxiety, concern and, in many cases, fear,” Papazian stated in an email on Feb. 28. “The health and well-being of the SJSU campus community is our top priority. If you are feeling ill, please take care of yourself. Together, we will navigate through this time of uncertainty.”
To say pandemics are unpredictable is an understatement, but in “this time of uncertainty,” university leaders should have sent out clearer instructions for students and faculty members long before classes were suspended or campus was shut down, not after the fact.
Instead of sending out emails to students in the dorms about reserving their spot for next year, many students want answers about how to stay safe in the dorms now.
Dr. Barbara Fu, SJSU’s interim clinical supervisor, told the Spartan Daily on Tuesday that students in the dorms should try to move their beds to be 3-6 feet apart, but no such communication has been sent to those students in the dorms.
On Wednesday, resident advisors went around knocking on dorm doors to see who had remained on campus.
Those who didn’t answer were sent an email from Residential Life Coordinators asking if dorm residents had departed campus.
The university brought this upon themselves by making an abrupt announcement to suspend classes despite the lack of in-depth planning, prompting an exodus from many campus residents.
Nancy Messonnier, director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on Feb. 25 that the spread of the virus in the U.S. is “not so much a question of if, but when,” according to PBS.
With top health experts warning of an inevitable outbreak in the country, SJSU, which aims to be an educational leader in the U.S., should be more transparent with its action plan for the rest of the semester.
Ideally, SJSU would have begun preparing for a possible cancellation of in-person classes when Santa Clara County had its first
COVID-19 case.
It will be difficult to have all relevant faculty members trained by SJSU Academic Affairs to adapt their curriculum for online instruction within the span of four days.
That’s not nearly enough time, but we have to accommodate these rapid changes. However, the university would make it easier on students and faculty members by being more transparent about exactly how classes will transition online.
If students don’t have reliable internet access at home, what are their options? What if students don’t even have computers at home?
Going to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library is certainly an option, but that would defeat the purpose of social distancing.
While the average age of an undergraduate SJSU student is 22 and the average for graduate students is 29, according to SJSU Institutional Research, a student infection could be fatal to a family member who has a weakened or compromised immune system.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Older people and people of all ages with severe underlying health conditions – like heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, for example – seem to be at higher risk of developing serious COVID-19 illness.”
The university administration cannot go back in time to reshape their initial response, but for the sake of transparency to those who sacrifice so much to attend SJSU, us students should receive more detailed information about the school’s plans going forward.
